The classic version of feudalism describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the warrior nobility, revolving around the three key concepts of lords, vassals, and fiefs. It can be broadly defined as a system for structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land, known as a fiefdom or fief, in exchange for service or labour. The Church was only the only centralized institution surviving the Fall of Rome and eventually emerged as the leading spiritual guide and. Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries. Its influence and power greatly increased during the political, economic and spiritual crisis which marked the period after the Fall of Rome in 476. Each class in society needed land and had obligations listing what one had to do to ensure their security of land('Manorialism'). The Church had great influence and power in feudal society. These nobles and lords would in turn have vassals (servants) work the land in exchange for a place to live. In a feudal society, the land was owned by noble lords and worked by. A vassal held his land, or fief, as a grant from a lord. Another way of understanding feudalism is through the ownership and working of the land. The king owned all the land and would distribute lots of land to nobles and lords in exchange of military protection. Feudalism was built upon a relationship of obligation and mutual service between vassals and lords. Despite feudalistic societies occurring in other parts of the world, European feudalism of the Medieval Ages remain the common model of the feudal society.īasically, Feudalism was the system of land and obligation('Manorialism'). The system of the feudalism of Europe in the Middle Ages spread to all parts of Europe until the 14th century ('Feudalism'). Second, there were the vassals, who were granted land by the lord in exchange for their loyalty and service. The social classes of feudalism are the hierarchical social divisions characteristic of the political, military and social system that took place in the Middle Ages and whose class. The lord had a great deal of power and authority, and the vassals were obligated to follow his commands. First, there was the lord, who owned the land and controlled the vassals. The word feudalism comes from the Latin word feodum, for 'fief,' and a German word meaning 'cow,'generalized to indicate valuable and movable property and land ('Feudalism'). There were several key components to the feudal system. This hierarchy was crucial to the systems of feudalism and manorialism.įeudalism controlled the political, economic and military system of the middle ages. There was a hierarchy of power in society, with the King at the highest levels. Denmark’s society ran on two systems during the high middle ages: the system of feudalism and manorialism('Feudalism').Īs mentioned on the previous page, Denmark used to be a Monarchy.

Feudalism in the middle ages classes